VVC 08 Club Vivid Vid: Smiley Faces

[charmax]

Video Title: Smiley Faces
Song Title/Artist: Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley
Show: Torchwood
Summary: Team Torchwood and "how hard this life can be."
Length/Format: 3.05, (Xvid, Stream)
Notes: Premiered at Club Vivid, Vividcon 08.
This was made during my old comp's death throes. As a result it isn't quite as flash as originally conceived (only the title sequence remains of Charmax's fancy Torchwood vid that never was) nevertheless I feel my fondness for team Torchwood does come across and that's the main thing. Gwen and Jack have the best smiles in fandom.

Links: Download Xvid (720x400 - 50MB) | Download Xvid (480x272 - 25MB) | Stream@Imeem

Smiley Faces from Charmax on Vimeo.

Password: iheartvidz


Smiley Faces

What did you do? What did you say?
Did you walk - or did you run away?
Where are you now? Where have you been?
Did you go alone - or did you bring a friend?

I need to know this - cause I notice when you're smilin'
Out in the sun havin' fun and you're feelin' free
And I can tell you know how hard this life can be
But you keep on smilin' for me

What went right? What went wrong?
Was it the story - or was it the song?
Was it overnight - or did it take you long?
Was knowing your weakness what made you strong?

Or all the above - oh how I love to see you smilin'
And oh yeah - take a little pain just in case
You need something warm to embrace
To help you put on a smilin' face
Hey, put on a smilin' face

Don't you go off into the new day with any doubt
Here's a summary of somethin' that you could smile about:
Say for instance, my girlfriend she bugs me all the time
But the irony of it all is that she loves me all the time

I want to be you - whenever I see you smilin'
Cause it's easily one of the hardest things to do
Your worries and fears become your friends
And they end up smilin' at you
Put on a smilin' face


Feedback loved.

Comments

[bunnythenavia.livejournal.com]

What a treat! Great pace. I love what you did with the titles.

z

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Zohar, glad you enjoyed it. I'm pleased I decided to persevere with the titles-they nearly didn't make it with my fuck up of a computer.

[cc-magnifique.livejournal.com]

Awesome, awesome, awesome.

I don't think there's a single thing I'd change about this one! (grins) The credits were stunning, I especially loved the ending, wrapped around Jack there and the song (which I actually hadn't heard before!) so worked, totally brill.

Oh! And I'm in total agreement about the smile of Jack. It is a thing of wonder, it gives me an absolute happy.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Cheers!

How can you not have heard the song? It's been everywhere. *g* The credits turned out to be quite a feat but they are nice bookenders, aren't they? Many thanks.

Jack smiling is just joy and love.

Did you walk - or did you run away?

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

Very neat credits wusing the Torchwood visuals. So creative. I love Gnarls Barkley and this song. I'm extremely glad you did this vid because it's sparkly fun. The jumpcuts are great and add a lot of energy. I kind of adore this vid because underneath the fun there's a deeply fucked up layer. Or maybe the fun is the layer underneath the fucked up surface. Either way, I adore it. The typewriter to the computer made me smile, as did all the guns, kissing, and goodbyes... so pretty much everything.

Re: Did you walk - or did you run away?

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Mimicking the Torchwood credits was quite time consuming but a lot of fun. I really loved the idea of using this song for the show precisely because it combined the happy with the unsettling and is darker than it first appears. Hence a vid with a layer of fuckedupedness hiding under it's jolly surface. I'm so glad you liked it.

[balistik94.livejournal.com]

That was really great. I especially love your beat editing and how you play with the time toggle and the quick cuts. Your fondness for these characters does come across indeed.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did kind of go all out with the toggling and the jump cuts it was a nice to mix my style up a bit see what happened. I'm glad you liked it.

[monikkk.livejournal.com]

awesome video!! really :D so cool :d

[charmax.livejournal.com]

YAY thank you! \o/

[beautybecks.livejournal.com]

hi hate to pester but the smaller download is for the ashes to ashes vid, (which I'm downloading too). Please could you upload the smaller vid for Torchwood as I would love to download it, but I'm cautious about the little space I have left on my laptop. It sounds like a great vid!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Sorry my mistake. All fixed now. :)

[louiex.livejournal.com]

What a great vid! I love the comparison shots (Gray with Abbadon, Martha saluting Jack just as the Doctor did in the end there) and the timing with the lyrics was really spot on. Loved it!!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I loved the idea of using Gray and Abbadon for
Was knowing your weakness what made you strong?
It does kind of mess with the chronology but nevermind. Martha, John and the Doctor leaving Jack with his team seemed like the perfect ending to the vid.

[elisi]

Oh I love this. TW is such an angsty show, but there is also so much humour and warmth - and this video does justice to both. Well done!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I like some angst in shows but life can be grim enough, what draws me in is mostly the warmth and the camaraderie. Glad you enjoyed.

[boom-queen.livejournal.com]

You certainly know how to make a really complex vid look amazing and effortless. Gorgeous to watch and funny-painful too!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Well I'm glad it looks effortless because it was head-bangingly, hair-tearingly painful at times not that I'm bitter, oh no. Thanks for the lovely comment. :D

[leviathan101.livejournal.com]

That was just completely awesome. Loved the repeated clips and especially both sets of credits (beginning and ending). Fantastic from start to finish. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the credits and it's great to know the rest of the vid went well too, I was a bit worried the titles were false advertising. *g*

Thanks very much!

[xxrai87xx.livejournal.com]

Loved the titles at the beginning. Looked like the real thing. hehe Wicked video. Made me giggle. xx

[charmax.livejournal.com]

It was great fun playing around with the titles, nice of you to mention them. :D Cheers.

[razyr.livejournal.com]

That was soooo cool :D

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for saying so!

[aworldinside.livejournal.com]

Wow, I loved this.

I liked how you mixed the smiles and happier scenes (and Jack's smile is a thing of beauty) with the crazy angsty insane things that happen to them. It worked really well.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Where would Torchwood be without Jack's smile?! I'm glad you liked the mix of emotions in the vid.

[hope]

awesome!! I love this :D

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[mranderson71.livejournal.com]

Shit yeah! This sucker has got Char to the Max written all over it.

From the excellent opening & closing credits, to all the wibbly-wobbly, dancey-wancey stuff in the middle. Dangerously entertaining, even though Im no Torchwood fan. But Ive come to expect no less.

Freakin awesome.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

"Char to the Max", lol.

I did have fun playing with the credits some of the wibbly-wobbly stuff in between, not so much. If it's entertaining, then I'm happy.

Cheers!

[futureperfect.livejournal.com]

Excellent work!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[kiratollan.livejournal.com]

Wow, great editing. I really value when someone manages to match the scenes to the timing and the text of the song like this. Good job with the text too :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. It's great to hear you think I did a good job.

[talitha78.livejournal.com]

Call me completely shallow, but I have such credit envy of this vid. But, then again, your credits are always made of awesome. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I do sometimes like to do fancy credits, glad you thought they worked.

[irradiatedsoup.livejournal.com]

This is ace.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of Torchwood, but this vid was great fun anyway. :) So much action and giggles!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm pleased a non fan could enjoy it.

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

I just described this as "bouncy angst" in my delicious account. And it is - which really brings out some of the contradiction in the show - the smiling in the face of danger/crazy/apocalypse. Excellent. Also, I have this terrible feeling that I've enjoyed far more of your vids than I've commented on. Sorry!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I did try to get both sides of the show in. Bouncy angst is a pretty good summation, I think.

As for feedback on my vids, you're enjoying them and this comment is a great start. *g*

[greenapricot.livejournal.com]

femmenerd pointed me over here, and I think she hit the nail right I the head when she said bouncy angst. This feels exactly like the show, all of it all the funny and all the angst and all the baddassery all in one beautiful little package. I love it!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it and that it's mix of emotions worked for you. Thanks for commenting.

[beerbad.livejournal.com]

I've had this favorited on imeem for awhile and am FINALLY coming back to download... because I love it so! :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Oh fantastic thanks for telling me! :)

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

I've watched this vid so many times on my VVC DVDs. I love it so much. I had to come tell you again. So awesome! ♥

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Firstly, saw your rec. The rec might be a long time coming but it's better late than never. *g*

It's great to know you still love it, and don't skip it on the DVDS.

[shenniefish.livejournal.com]

Oh, my, the happy! This had me dancing in my chair with my teddy bear. Though I will not admit it~ I loved it.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I hope the teddy bear enjoyed it as much as you did! Thanks for the feedback.